The process of washing, disinfecting, and debriding the wound was swift. Fixing the broken bones, reconnecting the blood vessels and nerves, stitching the tendons, and finally suturing the skin—it all went smoothly.
The single-finger amputation was resolved in less than half an hour.
Su Yixuan passed the bandages over, both the clockwise and counterclockwise ones already prepared, then lowered her head to tidy up the instruments.
Yang Ping took the bandages and began wrapping the wound. Song Zimo raised his hand, and Little Five removed the cloth clamp.
Song Zimo was quite curious about what kind of surgery Yang Ping would perform on something other than a finger replantation, wondering if it would be just as perfect as this one, almost suffocating in its perfection.
"Doctor, thank you. After my finger recovers, will it affect my ability to play Honor of Kings?" the young man with the yellow hair asked anxiously.
"It shouldn't!" Yang Ping reassured him.
The young man immediately relaxed, overwhelmed with gratitude. "Thank you, doctor, really, you're my—"
He suddenly realized something was off. These doctors seemed so young, so he corrected himself, "I mean, you're my rebirth brothers! They wanted to send me to Yunjian Hand Surgery Hospital, but no way, I insisted on coming to you guys!"
"How do you know our hospital is so good?" Song Zimo asked with a smile.
The young man grinned, "It's all over the news and newspapers, they said that a hero's hand was broken into five pieces, and you managed to reattach them all! My case must be a piece of cake for you guys."
He had quite the gift for gab, which made everyone in the operating room burst into laughter.
"Remember, you'll need to lie in bed for ten days. If you want to play Honor of Kings, use your other hand. You can't use that finger for now. During these ten days, you must take it easy. If you get up, your skill level will drop a rank, and I'm not joking," Song Zimo instructed.
"Don't worry, I'll follow your advice," the young man said, his expression resolute.
"You guys can't be over thirty, right? You're so young, yet your skills are incredible." The young man liked to chat.
Yang Ping secured the young man's hand with a sling across his chest and patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, go back to your ward and rest well."
The young man seemed to want to say more but was forced to close his mouth.
"Dr. Yang, these past days, Nurse Su has been assisting you non-stop, day and night. You should show your gratitude. How about treating us to dinner later?" a circulating nurse teased.
"Of course. How about after work today? You guys choose the place," Yang Ping replied with a laugh.
"Sounds good!" the circulating nurse replied, "We'll go to a restaurant near the hospital, whichever one has space."
"Sure!" Little Five chimed in.
"Alright, we'll settle it then. After work, let's all go together?" Yang Ping asked. It seemed like a good opportunity to get to know his colleagues in the operating room better and build some camaraderie.
Song Zimo wasn't particularly interested. "You guys go ahead. I'll pass."
"You think the places near the hospital are beneath your standards?" the circulating nurse teased.
Song Zimo, embarrassed, answered, "Not at all. I really have something to do today."
"Nobody else can take time off. Xiao Su, you're the main character, you must come! Today's meal is especially for you," the circulating nurse decided, locking in the plan.
Su Yixuan, who had been tidying up the instruments, nodded lightly, indicating her agreement.
In the changing room, she checked her phone—it was already past eight.
Su Yixuan went to clean the instruments, while Yang Ping changed clothes and sat down on a bench, closing his eyes. He took the chance to enter the system.
The system's progress bar showed that the task completion rate was at 1%, with only a tiny bit of progress.
There was still a long way to go. The journey ahead was tough, and much effort was still required.
After resting for a while, a message came in the WeChat surgical group: "See you at the west gate of the hospital."
Yang Ping immediately made his way to the west gate of the hospital, waiting for everyone. He kept his eyes fixed on the door, but the first person to come out wasn't one of his colleagues. Another person came out, also not a colleague. Several familiar interns came out in pairs and waved to Yang Ping, which made him feel a bit awkward.
Soon, Su Yixuan came out, her hair tied up, wearing a knee-length skirt and white sandals, with a shoulder bag slung across her body. As soon as she saw Yang Ping, she looked around. "Where are they?"
"I haven't seen them yet. They're probably at the back. Should we go ahead and book a table?" Yang Ping suggested, since waiting here wasn't very productive.
"Where to?" Yang Ping scratched his head.
Su Yixuan smiled. "You haven't made a reservation yet? How about we go to 'Second Uncle's Grilled Fish'? We might get lucky. It's the weekend, and they've got fresh perch today, but last weekend, I couldn't even get a spot."
"Alright, let's go check it out," Yang Ping agreed, leading her across the street.
When they arrived at 'Second Uncle's Grilled Fish', there were no available tables. The people waiting to be seated were uncertain about when they would get in. Su Yixuan asked one of the staff, "When will there be a free table?"
The waiter, too busy to even look up, replied, "Come back tomorrow. We've stopped issuing numbers for today."
"This is harder to get than an expert's appointment!" Yang Ping thought to himself.
Su Yixuan was disappointed. "Last time, I came with some nurses from the department, but we were late and didn't get a seat. Now today, we still missed out. Let's go eat somewhere else. Wait, why haven't they shown up yet?"
"They don't know we came here. I'll call them," Yang Ping said, taking out his phone.
"What's going on? Nobody's answering their phone. You try," Yang Ping said, puzzled, passing the phone to Su Yixuan.
Su Yixuan also tried several times, but no one picked up.
Then a message came in the group:
"My child has a fever, I'm not going."
"I'm at the 4S shop looking at cars, I'm not going."
"I twisted my ankle, icing it."
It was awkward now—weren't they all supposed to have dinner together? Now, only the two of them were left. Yang Ping awkwardly suggested, "Well, the two of us can find a place to eat."
They had to eat, right? There was no way they'd just go back.
"Mm!" Su Yixuan nodded, her face turning a little red.
Just as they were about to leave 'Second Uncle's Grilled Fish' and find another place, a voice called out from behind, "Wait a minute!"
"Hello, you're Dr. Yang Ping from the orthopedic department at Sanbo Hospital, right? I'm the owner here." A man with a large belly, dressed in a white coat and shorts, came running out.
"You know me?" Yang Ping was surprised, though it wasn't unusual to know the owners of nearby businesses.
The man grinned. "They all call me 'Second Uncle'. Someone's already reserved a spot for you. Come, come, I'll show you to a better table."
Second Uncle led them upstairs to the second floor of the restaurant.
Sure enough, on the second floor, there was a table by the window.
"Please sit down. Wait a moment, I'll have the fish brought up for you. Don't worry, it's already ordered for you," Second Uncle said warmly.
Yang Ping hesitated to sit. Su Yixuan glanced at him, "Do you think they're playing a prank on us?"
"This doesn't make sense, we only decided on grilled fish when we got to the hospital's west gate," Yang Ping thought.
"Second Uncle, who reserved this spot for us, and how did they order the fish?"
Second Uncle just smiled. "They said they're your friend but didn't want me to tell you. Don't worry, your friend is polite and courteous, not some bad person."
"What do they look like? Male or female?" Yang Ping asked.
Second Uncle shook his head. "I can't say."
"Second Uncle, if you don't tell me, I can't sit down," Yang Ping joked.
Second Uncle reassured him, "Your friend said it's fine if you don't sit. But next weekend, the perch only arrives then. Your friend just made the reservation for you, and the money's on you, so you don't have to worry. Just enjoy yourself."
Yang Ping was intrigued. "What kind of friend does this, just reserving a spot and ordering the fish? And they're paying for themselves?"
They both sat down.
Su Yixuan smiled. "Dr. Yang, your friend is interesting, keeping everything so mysterious."
Yang Ping racked his brain but couldn't figure out who it could be. Little Five? It had to be him, the one who loved to play tricks.
It had to be him. Yang Ping relaxed once he was sure, sending a WeChat message
to let him know, though he felt a little amused at how mysterious Little Five made it.
A fragrant grilled perch arrived, the fire was lit, and as the flames danced, the aroma grew more intense.
"Come on, eat more. You've been working hard lately, and you're still growing," Yang Ping said, mimicking something he'd learned from Old Han.
"I can still grow? First time I've heard you say that," Su Yixuan teased, a hungry grin spreading across her face as she picked up a piece of fish and tried it.
"Mm, it's really good. Eat, come on!" Su Yixuan passed him her fork, and it was so similar to how she handed him medical instruments that it almost felt like a surgical maneuver.
Realizing something was off, they exchanged amused glances.
"Hey, are you dissecting or eating fish?" Su Yixuan joked, noticing Yang Ping using both the small knife and chopsticks to expertly separate the fish meat from the bones, just like he was performing surgery. Each cut was clean, with no meat left stuck to the bones, and he moved like a skilled surgeon.
"Here! I'm giving you some!" Yang Ping laughed, "Surgeons have their own way of eating, you know. Just wait, the rest of it will be a perfect skeleton, ready for the boss to post on WeChat."
"You're something else," Su Yixuan smiled.
"They're offering free ice cream. I'll go get some." She got two ice creams. "Plain flavor, here."
"Eat it, it's free. I'll grab a few more for the road. You help me get some, too."
The two of them chatted and laughed, and Yang Ping felt a sense of relaxation he'd never experienced before.
After they finished eating, the table was left with a clean, glistening fish skeleton. Su Yixuan took a photo and said, "Dr. Yang, you've really put your professional skills into this. Without a surgeon's hand, you wouldn't be able to make such a clean break, right?"
After dinner, Su Yixuan went back to the dorm, and Yang Ping walked her there before heading back to his own place.
Back home, Yang Ping grabbed his phone and called Little Five. "Hey, Little Five, thanks today."
Little Five responded smugly, "No need to thank me, we're brothers, right? Had fun today? Took a little step forward in the revolution?"
"You knew we were going to eat at Second Uncle's Grilled Fish and reserved a table for us?" Yang Ping asked.
Little Five sounded confused. "What? I didn't reserve anything!"
"Don't play games with me. I know you're the master of tricks," Yang Ping said.
"What? Me? I don't know anything about that."
"Really not you?"
"Bro, I'm Lu Little Five, upright and honest. I didn't know where you were going to eat!"
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. I was at the 4S shop looking at cars and just got back."
Yang Ping hung up, still puzzled.
Who else could it be? Who would randomly reserve a table for him?
Maybe someone from the operating room? The head nurse? Song Zimo? The circulating nurse? No, no way—they had no reason to do something like that.
Strange things always happen, but this year, it seemed like there were even more.
Whatever. It was his own money anyway.
Thinking about it made him feel a little better.